Şihabetdin Märcani

Biography

Şihabetdin Märcani (Tatar: شهاب الدین مرجانی, Cyrillic: Шиһабетдин Мәрҗани, IPA: [ʃihabetˈtin mærʑaˈni]; 1818–1889) was a Tatar Hanafi-Maturidi theologian and historian. Märcani has been noted for "laying the basis for the theory of a Tatar territorial nation by establishing historical continuity between Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde, the Khanate of Kazan and the Tatars of his time". Märcani advocated for the use of the ethnonym "Tatar", in spite of the negative connotation it had during the Russian Empire. Märcani was part of the Naqshbandi Sufi order.

Märcani studied in madrassas of Tashkichu (near Kazan), Bukhara and Samarkand. Beginning in 1850 he served as the imam of the First Cathedral Mosque. Later, in 1867, he became a muhtasib of Kazan. At the same time, in 1876-1884 he lectured on religion in the Tatar Teachers' School. Märcani became the first Muslim member of The Society for Archaeology, History and Ethnography at Kazan State University. In his papers he illustrated his ideas about the renovation and the perfection of the Tatar educational system. As a historian, he was the first Tatar scholar to employ a synthesis of European methodology with the traditions of the Oriental scholars. He was the author of more than 30 volumes about Tatar history.